Manti Te’o: Enough with the sideshow

Manti Te’o spoke with the media for the first time in more than a month on Tuesday. It was mostly about football and moving forward.

I have to say, I’m ready for that.

I’ve never been hounded by mobs of reporters, but I’ve been part of the mob, and I’m hoping this Te’o “girlfriend” story ends. He got duped by a pretend girlfriend. That doesn’t put him on par with athletes who get charged with crimes, but sometimes I wonder if the public and media know this.

AP Photo

It’s a weird spot for reporters. In reality, few want to keep asking the same questions, but nobody wants to be the one whose boss says, “You didn’t ask him about the girlfriend thing?”

At the same time, how long does Te’o have to wait to start talking about something else? Until he’s 30? Forty?

Too bad there’s no standard rule on these things. Karl Malone was asked about his thoughts on AIDS back in the early 1990s and he said he had some reservations about playing against someone who was HIV-positive. At the time, not a lot was known about the subject. For months thereafter he was bombarded by the same questions.

There’s only one thing that kills these never ending stories: Something comes along and becomes a newer, bigger story.

I’ve decided if I meet Te’o, I won’t ask him about the girlfriend. I don’t have time for this. I still have to reach Tim Tebow and LoLo Jones to ask if they’re still virgins.